Do you want to work for Google? In some ways, who wouldn’t?

Sunny California,
fabulous campus, free organic meals, perks galore .. . oh, and challenging work with some
of the brightest minds in the field. By all accounts, Google is a class act, a symbol of
modernization. Does Google want you to work for it? Ah, that is the question. As you can
see, being a smart creative is not all positive. But it will get you hired at Google.

One last question: Are you male or female? Google may be a symbol of the modernization
of the workplace, but perhaps not of the workforce. The Google workforce, with 48,600
individuals, is a man’s world—70 percent male overall. On the executive level, only three
of the company’s 36 executives are women. Google officials say they are aware of the lack
of diversity, but that their diversity initiatives have failed. However, others report that
sexist comments go unchecked and there is a frat-house atmosphere. In fact, an
interviewer at an all-company presentation insultingly teased a man and woman who
shared an office, asking them, «Which one of you does the dishes?»Thankfully, Google
has begun to put its smart creatives to work on new thoughts about diversity. With the help
of social psychology research, the company sent all employees through training on
unconscious bias—our reflexive tendency to be biased toward our own groups—to force
people to consider their racist and sexist mindsets.